Apple wants to make the iPad more laptop-like with iPadOS 16

AppleInsider

A new report suggests Apple will change iPad multitasking yet again with iPadOS 16, this time to enable multiple resizable windows similar to macOS.

Apple could introduce new iPadOS features to make multitasking more laptop-like

Apple is set to announce a slew of new operating system updates during WWDC on Monday, but it seems the biggest changes may be coming to iPadOS. A new report from Mark Gurman suggests that Apple will make the iPad more laptop-like with new multitasking upgrades.

According to the Bloomberg report, upgrades coming with iPadOS 16 will be significant and make the iPad more like a laptop and less like a phone. The leaked information was shared by people familiar with Apple's plans.

The redesigned multitasking interface would make it easier to see what apps are open and switch between tasks. Windows would be movable and resizable similar to macOS, unlike the existing solution which places two windows side-by-side with fixed positions.

The iPad story has been somewhat confused in recent years as Apple has made big commitments in hardware that are never followed up in software. The latest iPad Pro runs the same M1 processor as a Mac, yet it doesn't run the same software and has a multitude of built-in limitations thanks to iPadOS.

If this reported leak proves true, then Apple's WWDC 2022 will be an exciting one for iPad fans and developers alike. Apple is also expected to announce new updates including iOS 16, macOS 13, and possible hardware like an AR headset. The WWDC keynote will be streamed live on Monday, June 6 at 10 a.m. Pacific via the Apple TV app, YouTube, and Apple's website.

Read on AppleInsider

tht

Yay! The day had to come. I can finally get an iPP12.9.

Also be mindful that Apple has to go all the way with multitasking. They can have arbitrarily sized apps, overlapping onscreen, but apps should be able to run in the background in perpetuity, the sound and video streams can be shared and multiplexed, the page file turned on, so on and so forth. The onscreen keyboard will hopefully get a nice update too. And, all this down in a multi-touch friendly way.

rob53

Does this mean multiple user accounts?

jpellino

Remove the keyboard from a MBA M1 and you're most of the hardware-way to a double-thick iPad Pro M1.  Yes, removing the "porthole" limitations of iOS would be wonderful.  

tht

rob53 said:

Does this mean multiple user accounts?

Not yet. If it was in the iPadOS 16 feature set, I would think Gurman would have mentioned it by now. They are 4 days out from the WWDC keynote. The feature set would have been frozen about 2 or 3 months ago. As it stands, a lot of features announced on Monday won't make it by Fall of 2022 and we could be waiting for Spring of 2023 for some of them. So, this new UI may be farther out then hoped.

danox

rob53 said:

Does this mean multiple user accounts?

Hope not….

hmlongco

I think the catch here is that you could get resizable windows and the like.., if you're connected to a magic keyboard and trackpad. 

Otherwise I'd expect any running app to revert back to a full-screen window with controls suitable for fat fingers.

rob53

danox said:

rob53 said:

Does this mean multiple user accounts?

Hope not….

Title of article is making iPad more like a laptop. Multi users is laptop like. IF Apple really wants a touch laptop then multiple users is a must. This would be great for families with children, partners who respect each other and especially for businesses. 

canukstorm

hmlongco said:

I think the catch here is that you could get resizable windows and the like.., if you're connected to a magic keyboard and trackpad. 

Otherwise I'd expect any running app to revert back to a full-screen window with controls suitable for fat fingers.

Agreed.  And (knock on wood) when connected to an external display

ITGUYINSD

danox said:

rob53 said:

Does this mean multiple user accounts?

Hope not….

You hope not, why?  I understand if you don't want to use the feature, but with that said, how would having the ability of having multiple user accounts hurt you?  

mccargos

rob53 said:

Does this mean multiple user accounts?

Probably not that would allow for people to not need individual IPads apple would loose money and the tablet market already isn’t booming they wont do something that will lower profits even more like that.

hopestillflies

Hmm, wonder if this will be limited to M1 iPads. I work often from an iPad mini connected to a monitor and with a keyboard and trackpad. While the multitasking doesn’t make a lot of sense for the size of the mini standalone, it would be great for when I’m in desktop mode.

tht

hopestillflies said:

Hmm, wonder if this will be limited to M1 iPads. I work often from an iPad mini connected to a monitor and with a keyboard and trackpad. While the multitasking doesn’t make a lot of sense for the size of the mini standalone, it would be great for when I’m in desktop mode.

4 GB RAM or greater for this multitasking mode imo. They also have to turn on the page file and if so, it maybe limited by the NAND speed and features. 

TheObannonFile

Yesssss! I am excited about this.

I wanna give a shout-out to all the turds on this forum over the last couple of years who have blindly defended the iPad with the logic “nobody is making you buy it” and “if it doesn’t do what you don’t want it to do, don’t buy it and don’t complain” and “if it doesn’t do what you want it to there are other alternatives”. The iPad has been VERY good hardware wise and absolutely WEAK OS and software wise. Apple has to know this, and it has to change.

This gives me hope that it will.

hmlongco

TheObannonFile said:

This gives me hope that it will.

To a certain extent. I don't think we're getting Mac apps on iPad, but iPad apps using Catalyst such that they support running in windows with menus on a Mac... or iPad,

I wrote about it at some length awhile back...

https://medium.com/macoclock/macos-on-ipad-pro-its-complicated-a0c2e7a50248

macdarren

I Think it is time to integrate....a MacBook air with full OSX functionality, with a detachable 12-14 inch iPad as a screen.  House whatever bits whereever they need to be (screen or keyboard platform) and make it a decent M1 level performer with 32GB and 1TB options with a base price around MB Air or iPad Pro levels and I am others I know will buy one without thinking twice...  Apple keeps things separate as they like but integrated to provide the best experience of both.  You could sell the 'Pad part' alone with the option to 'upgrade' to a full Mac experience by getting the keyboard dock or sell it as one combined unit for some moderate discount....I know I am not the only one thinking this might work, and not be a Surface rerun.

canukstorm

hmlongco said:

TheObannonFile said:

This gives me hope that it will.

To a certain extent. I don't think we're getting Mac apps on iPad, but iPad apps using Catalyst such that they support running in windows with menus on a Mac... or iPad,

I wrote about it at some length awhile back...

https://medium.com/macoclock/macos-on-ipad-pro-its-complicated-a0c2e7a50248

Thanks for the link.  Enjoyed reading it.

mfryd

I would be very happy if Apple offered me the option of installing Mac OS X on my iPad Pro.

The M1 based iPad Pro is essentially a touch screen Mac.  Add the Magic Keyboard gets a keyboard and trackpad, just like a MacBook Air.

mattinoz

There was a patent many years ago about allowing Mac Apps to side load a remote interface app to an iPad that geared the function to the touch interface without needing to go via the appstore and maybe only when connected to the Mac well enough to offload processing as required. 

Sure what happened is that was just the model for WatchApp in the first generation.

Still would be a great way to let users who need desktop set ups (screen space and other demands) to be able to replace their laptop with an iPad

entropys

Resizable windows and dedicated screen window locations (eg if you have three apps running they can automatically spread out over the screen, or cascade depending on user preference.). That is described badly. 

And it better not be limited to iPads with an external keypad. Just get a real laptop already!

other things:
real file management
multi user
fix mail! Half the time read mail still appears with a blue button! And that is the least of its problems. And something weird is going on with calendar notifications too. They keep coming up even for meetings in the last, or meetings weeks away! It seems every now and again there must be a sync problem and I get notified of a bunch of random meetings all at once.

Japhey

hopestillflies said:

Hmm, wonder if this will be limited to M1 iPads. I work often from an iPad mini connected to a monitor and with a keyboard and trackpad. While the multitasking doesn’t make a lot of sense for the size of the mini standalone, it would be great for when I’m in desktop mode.

Yes. I’ve read elsewhere that it will indeed be limited to M1 models only. Pity, because that would give my Mini more utility.